


A Date With Disaster

by underhandlilies



Category: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Clack, Cloud - Freeform, Cloud Strife - Freeform, First Dates, M/M, Zack - Freeform, Zack Fair - Freeform, silliness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-25
Updated: 2012-05-25
Packaged: 2017-11-06 00:07:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/412552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/underhandlilies/pseuds/underhandlilies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zack finally manages to score a dinner date with Cloud...but things don't go as planned. Again, and again, and again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Date With Disaster

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shinkirou](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shinkirou/gifts).



> Shinkirou! Hi! I planned to write something really awesome, but as usual, it came out kind of immature. Hope some of it came out the way you wanted! You're a pretty mature and awesome writer; I really hope that I can write like you, someday! :)
> 
> Request: Zack/Cloud, dinner date. This prompt comes from the optional dialogue with Cloud that you can get while at the Junon Cannon where Zack asks Cloud if he wants to get dinner sometime. (I can't find a video for it, sadly.) It can go however you'd like, and the rating doesn't matter, though I would certainly prefer a happy ending!

Zack ran his tongue over his teeth, letting an easy grin cross his face. Okay, so the mission hadn’t gone _all_ that well; he’d gotten chewed out for letting Hollander get away that easily. He hadn’t been expecting the scientist to actually, literally, “fly” off. 

The SOLDIERs were pretty upset at the loss, and not getting Zack wrong, he was too! But it wasn’t _completely_ gone to waste. 

Zack had coerced Cloud, the trooper kid he’d met on the Modeoheim mission, into dinner. Of course, Cloud had protested, but because he’d already been pretty queasy, he’d had to stop talking after a while. Zack’d got major bonus points for consoling Cloud while he was bent-double over the toilet--- _and_ he’d gotten a dinner date. Not treating a whole bunch of cadets, _just_ the two of them, getting to know each other. Plus the fact that Cloud was pretty cute, and it’d been ages since Zack had gotten a decent bite to eat.

So, it was a date.

Zack made arrangements at the most expensive restaurant above the Plate – _Maurice_ was no small affair, and judging how Cloud’s voice had risen in pitch over the phone, the kid knew it too.

“Sir,” he’d said at first, politely – Cloud was all about politeness – “I don’t have that kind of money.”

“Don’t worry, and stop calling me sir!” Zack had said over the phone. “I’ll handle it.”

“But – But _sir_ ,” Cloud stuttered, abandoning politeness, “I’m n-not that important! I just thought, um, we could talk and maybe grab a burger or –”

“Naw,” Zack had interrupted, grinning – Cloud was just _too_ adorable sometimes. “ _I’ll_ shoulder the cost, don’t worry about it. You just be there, and _I’ll_ handle everything else.”

Zack hadn’t expected that the day of the date, though, that he’d be hacking through a monster attack in the slums. 

“Hey!” he yelled over at Kunsel, nearly slipping – stupid monsters were sliming the whole place up. “Think we can wrap this up in a few moments? I’ve got a date tonight!”

“So that’s why you’re keeping your uniform so clean,” Kunsel observed. “Don’t worry, we’re almost through, then you can go and impress your girl.” 

Zack’s grin grew. He was pretty sure Kunsel would flip when he found out that Zack was fussing over a _boy_ , not a girl. He was about to say as much, lunging forward to plant his sword in something else’s heart, when his foot went sliding out from under him in a puddle of slime. Zack went up, and then came crashing down; but not before he tumbled down a slope coated in slime and monster slobber, thoroughly covering himself in it. 

When he finally came to a stop, he opened his mouth to groan, and then spit out slime in disgust.

“Man! You okay?” Kunsel was still safely at the top of the hill, peering down at Zack. 

“My suit is ruined,” Zack said flatly, lying perfectly still. 

Kunsel turned away for a second. There were the sounds of a brief battle and a fleshy slice, and then Kunsel slid down the hill, his arms held out to either side for balance. He peered down at Zack, who hadn’t moved, and whistled.

“That’s bad luck,” he said. “Do you have time to change?”

“I have to be there in fifteen,” Zack replied morosely. “It’s already going to take about ten minutes to get back up on the Plate, so I don’t have enough time to make a stop at the apartment. The kid’ll think I stood him up.”

Kunsel didn’t seem to notice that Zack’s date was male. “Then you’ve got to go straight. Don’t worry about it; you’re a SOLDIER. They’re required to let you in. Snag a towel off a clothsline. You’ll be cool.”

Zack was already peeling himself up, wiping off his watch face to peer at it worriedly.

“C’mon, bro!” Kunsel gave Zack a hearty smack on the shoulder. A thick trail of slime followed his hand as it came away. “Can’t leave the girl waiting!” 

Zack ran. He followed Kunsel’s advice and snagged a towel, and then felt guilty and wasted more time going back and putting the dirty towel on the doorstep. He caught the train, looking vaguely recognizable again; at least, he hoped. Finally, with moments to spare, he found himself outside of _Maurice’s_. 

Peering inside, he could see Cloud seated at a table, looking very uncomfortable. He’d come dressed in old civilian clothes, a t-shirt and jeans – and from the way he was sinking in his seat, he knew it wasn’t high-class enough for a restaurant like he was in. A waiter came by, obviously wondering why Cloud was there in the first place. Cloud explained, stuttering, that he was waiting for Zack Fair. The waiter gave him a critical look, and then left him alone. Zack decided to swoop in and bail him out.

Except that the swooping wasn’t really going as planned. 

“Excuse me, sir,” someone said from behind him, evident distaste in their voice, “But we do not allow anyone dressed like _that_ in the restaurant.”

Zack turned, coming face to face with a disgusted looking host. “I’m sorry,” he immediately apologized, giving one of his charming grins. “I didn’t have time to change.”

“We don’t allow anyone dressed like that here,” the man repeated, giving Zack a cursory look from head to toe. The slime that was still on his uniform had turned a crusty greenish-yellow, which was rather bad-looking. “We’re going to have to request that you leave.”

Zack gaped. “Whoa whoa _whoa_. I reserved a place here! I’m Zack Fair---”

Over at the table, another, more irritated-looking waiter came over, snapping something at Cloud. Cloud stuttered something out, gesturing towards the door that Zack had come in through; this time, though, the waiter didn’t leave him alone. Instead, he grabbed Cloud’s elbow, pulling him up from the table and bodily dragging him towards the back of the restaurant. Cloud struggled to keep up with one foot still on the ground, still trying to explain the situation.

“Hey!” Zack said, turning to the man angrily. “That’s my friend over there! And---” 

Unfortunately, by this point in time, two, bulkier men had appeared beside the first. They politely took both of Zack’s arms and began leading him, still ever so politely, to the door.

“But I’m a First Class _SOLDIER_!” Zack bellowed as the doors closed on him; it sucked not being able to fight back, but these guys _were_ civilians. Swallowing his anger, he quickly tried to run around the building---it’d looked like they were throwing Cloud out the back way instead of up front. But the alley was a dead-end. Zack swore, heading back and going the other way; nothing. 

Great. 

._._._.

_Really, Sir, it’s okay_ , Cloud texted the next morning. _It was just a big misunderstanding._

Zack still hadn’t quite gotten over last night, though. Even though the restaurant had called back with a stiff apology---hours later, they’d realized it _was_ actually a SOLDIER First Class they’d thrown out---nothing had gone the way he’d wanted it to. He should’ve been used to that by now, but it still stung.

_No prob, kid_ , Zack texted back. _You’re right, it was just a mix-up. Are you free again tonight?_

_Please don’t call me kid, sir. I have time tonight! Will I be bothering you?_

Zack’s grin crept back. Maybe he could still salvage this. _Not at all, kiddo. I’ll text you the address in a bit. Looking forward to seeing you._

This time, Zack went with another restaurant; not as fancy as _Maurice’s_ , but still a little high class. He wasn’t giving up his five star meal, and he was sure Cloud would appreciate the gesture. He carefully monitored which missions he would be put on, working out an ideal time that he and Cloud could both make; he made sure he could change in case of an accident like the day before, and his uniform was pressed and clean. Zack was ready. 

Or so he thought. 

The new restaurant was just as fancy-schmancy as the other one, Zack was a little disappointed to see. He was counting on it being a little more easy-going; but even if it wasn’t, he was sure he and Cloud would be able to chat each other up real good. He’d remembered that Cloud was a really friendly kid, and he thought he was pretty friendly, if he said so himself.

Zack grinned. Easy.

Or so he thought.

When he opened the door, Zack first noticed that the restaurant was quiet, almost deathly quiet. He frowned, creeping forward a little; such a popular restaurant would be packed at this time. Why not right now? 

Cautiously, every nerve on end, Zack peered around the corner into the main room of the restaurant. 

Oh hell.

There were people seated in chairs, white faced and clutching at each other. Some were on the floor, hands laced over their heads, but the majority looked shell-shocked. What Zack’s eyes immediately went to, though, was Cloud, who was seated in a chair, white-faced, his hands by his ears and a gun nozzle at his temple.

The characters didn’t seem like AVALANCHE’s style; they liked to blow things up. This looked more like another random group, taking advantage of the chaos Genesis had left behind. Zack let his eyes run over the scene, reaching back and fingering the hilt of his sword. It looked like he could take this out himself---it was the gun at Cloud’s head that was bothering him, though. If he charged in, it would be a hostage situation, and he wasn’t sure he wanted that.

“Nobody move!” the guy with the gun spat. “This clown here---” he nudged Cloud’s head, “Thought he could be a hero. Next person to be a hero gets a bullet through their head!”

There were only three other guys. Zack frowned. He guessed no infantry men were on patrol in this section tonight. It wasn’t like it was the slums or anything. The best thing to do was to take the others out and then take his chances with Cloud’s noggins’s safety.

His possible-future-boyfriend-he’d-been-trying-to-get-a-date-with- _forever’s_ … noggin.

That made it all the more important.

The best thing to do would’ve been to call backup, even though he thought it would be easy, but Zack was so sure it would be a cinch that he didn’t even bother pressing the emergency button. He slunk quietly around the edge of the restaurant, took out one of the guys by the counter, and began sneaking around to incapacitate the other one.

And that was around the time when Cloud spotted him. His eyes went huge. _Save me!_ He mouthed.

Cloud was supposed to be an infantryman, but when it came down to it, Zack guessed that he was still just a scared kid. _Awww…_

Unfortunately, he was so busy grinning at Cloud and giving him reassuring signals, that instead of taking the second gunner by surprise, the gunner brought the surprise to him. Zack got a gun butt smacked right into his chin, and went flailing backwards. The man holding Cloud hostage spun around in surprise, firing off a round; Zack rolled behind a table, trying his best to get covered until he managed to pull out his sword.

Cloud, meanwhile, seeing his chance again, charged at the man who’d been holding him hostage, struggling over the gun. The gunman who’d hit Zack cursed, whirling his gun around to Cloud, instead, but Zack gave a yell, tackling him. The people still sitting in their chairs screamed, dropping to the floor.

Four infantrymen burst through the doors just then, guns out. “We got the call!” One of them said.  
Unfortunately, Zack and Cloud, both in the middle of struggling with men holding guns, turned and looked at them in surprise.

Two gunshots went off.

._._._.

“I’m so so _so_ sorry, sir,” Cloud said miserably from the bed next to Zack.

Zack tried to shrug nonchalantly, but then clenched his teeth as pain shot through his shoulder. They’d removed the bullet, but no one had come in with Cure yet. Cloud was looking pale, holding his leg as straight as he could. Red was soaking through the bandages on his thigh.

“No big, s’okay. Just a couple of guys terrorizing a restaurant. Run of the mill.” He grinned at Cloud, who wanly smiled back.

“No, I was supposed to be able to handle that situation,” Cloud said, “And I was more of a burden than anything.” Here, his eyes welled up, and he quickly ducked his head down, picking at his bandages.

Aw great. There went his self-esteem again. Zack reached out, clapping Cloud’s thigh comfortingly. Unfortunately, it was his bad thigh, and there were a lot of gasps of pain and apologies before Zack could finally get to what he wanted to say.

“You know what? Anyone can make a mistake. Even I made a mistake. See, SOLDIERs can be pretty much invincible, but one thing they’re _not_ is bulletproof.” Zack smiled wryly, shifting his hurt shoulder. “Tell you what. How about we go out again tomorrow?”

Cloud’s head shot up. “Tomorrow? But---I mean, we got---”

“Nothing a Cure won’t fix,” Zack said smoothly. “Plus, we haven’t been able to spend time together that doesn’t involve someone interrupting---badly. How about it? You got time?” _Please have time_ , he added in his mind. He didn’t want Cloud to run away on account of a bout of bad luck.

“Y-Yeah, I’ve got time,” Cloud said, still a little shocked. “Th-Thanks, sir!”

“No prob,” Zack said, turning as the nurse came in with the materia. He winced.

The next day, Zack had pinned a little café near the train station as a romantic little getaway. He didn’t exactly know if Cloud knew that Zack was trying to woo him, but the backdrop _would_ give Zack a little leeway to flirt and test the waters. Zack’s grin grew. Cloud wouldn’t know what hit him.

That time, Zack decided to meet Cloud outside the restaurant. Cloud greeted him with a short, shy, “Hi!” and followed him tentatively into the café, looking around nervously. He relaxed a little more once they were seated at a table, which relieved Zack to no end.

“This place is really nice!” Cloud said happily, looking around. Maybe the pastel colors were overboard for Zack, but he’d guessed right in knowing that Cloud would like them. His confidence, and grin, both grew two sizes larger.

“Yeah, I know, right? When I first came here, I immediately thought of you.” Zack leaned forward a little, his grin melting into a softer smile. “Sort of reminds me of your eyes and hair.”

Cloud tittered nervously, flushing. Then, he giggled. “It sure beats being thrown out, and being shot at!”

Zack made to laugh when a tremor suddenly went through the room, starting from the roof. He looked up, grin fading slightly, just as the ceiling over the center of the café caved in.

Rising from the rubble stood three Genesis Copies. Not even bothering to brush off the plaster on their clothes or even pay attention to the damage, they immediately turned their attention to the occupants of the restaurant.

Cloud seemed frozen in disbelief. Zack stood up from his chair, coming around and standing in front of Cloud.

The Genesis Copies looked at him blankly for a moment, before simultaneously, they all drew weapons.

Zack groaned. “Oh sh----”

._._._.

It took Zack forever to reach Cloud after that incident. He’d guessed at first that Cloud was hiding because he was freaked out, and then maybe because he was upset that he didn’t immediately help Zack out in neutralizing the threat.

_Cloud?_

No texts back.

_Hey buddy. I know the last couple times weren’t exactly a great time, but would you like to try again? I know this neat place, just by the train station under the plate. I’ll be there at seven---see you there?_

No texts back.

It poured that night. Even though the Plate gave some shelter, it was miserable walking to the train station and dripping below. Zack waited for a long time, but Cloud didn’t show. Finally, when he got back to Shinra, he decided to call.

“Hello,” Cloud answered. He sounded tired and stuffed-up. Zack winced.

“Cloud, is that you?"

“Oh, hi sir. I’m so sorry. I got sick.” He pulled in long and hard. “Sorry. Wait, I just got a message.”

There was a pause.

“Oh Gaia, sir, I’m so _so_ sorry!” Cloud burst. “I didn’t get any messages and---you didn’t _go_ , did you? It’s _raining_ out there and---oh _Gaia_ , did you get wet?”

Zack shrugged, feeling a little better. “A little bit. Not much, but my suit does kind of smell.”

Cloud gave a little wail of unhappiness. “I’m so sorry---”

“ _But_ , you can still make it up to me,” Zack cut back in. “I know this cute place below the Plate. Just text me as soon as you’re better, okay? We can just go and grab burgers and maybe…talk?”

Cloud was quiet for a few minutes, probably trying to figure if he’d heard his own original plan spat back at him or not.

Zack didn’t give him time to think. “I mean, if you don’t, I completely understand. It wasn’t like the last couple were impressive or---”

“NO!” Cloud burst, and then, embarrassed, “No! I’ll come! When and where?”

._._._.

Zack was early this time. On second thought, it might’ve been better to accompany Cloud down, but he was sure that Cloud could at least handle riding the train down by himself. The rest of the restaurant was empty; it was quiet down here. Zack grinned. All the action was in the “quality” restaurants.

When Cloud walked in, Zack stood up, waving his hand around. “Cloud! Hey! Over here!”

Cloud grinned, waved his arm around in answer, and came over to plop down opposite Zack, slamming his hands on the table. “Finally!” he said. “Now _nothing_ can mess it up!”

“I know, right?” Zack said back.

They both paused for a second, waiting for something to happen, and then giggled nervously when nothing did.

Eventually, Cloud fiddled nervously with his menu, smiling a little uncertainly over at Zack. “Sorry for this being kind of awkward, sir, but this is my first time out in a while. What…do we do now?”

“We can start by you dropping the ‘sir’, and us getting properly acquainted.” Zack leaned forward with a grin, holding out his hand. “I’m Zack, no sir attached. You’re Cloud. Now let’s chill like buddies.”

Cloud laughed, taking Zack’s hand and shaking it. “Okay, Zack.”

Zack tried not to let his triumphant grin spread across his face. Finally, after that first meeting, after trying to make it work out, after fantasizing about getting Cloud to go on a date with him…

_Finally…_

Score!

Well, near to a score, but that wasn’t the point.

Zack was sure that he and Cloud would be a couple by the end of the month; he’d make sure of it.

Nothing was going to get in the way.

Hopefully.


End file.
